Welcome Fren! 🏝
Today, it makes sense to discuss the number 1 investment you can make in this lifetime…
Your Health
If you’re sitting on $1B and can’t get out of bed due to poor health, how is that enjoyable at all?
It’s not
Felix Dennis briefly touched on the consequences of not maintaining his health in the early days of his success in “How To Get Rich” (everyone should read this book)
As of 2020 36.3% of the US Population was classified as clinically obese… that number has rising for the past few decades.’
Coupled with a general decline in physical activity required for daily living (technology advances, delivery services, lockdowns,) and it should be clear that there has never been a more important time to guard and care for our health.
So what the hell does this have to do with Food as Finance?
Sinple…
As many of you found The Jungle through the WSP blog/twitter, it’s natural that the audience speaks primarily a language geared around finance and growing wealth.
While there is culinary interest in The Jungle, Octopod wants to make a direct comparison between Food & Finance that should highlight the vast importance in taking control of what you put in your body…
Let’s Talk Compounding:
To make sure we are all starting from an even playing field, the idea of compound interest is one of the most powerful financial principles in regards to accumulating profits and growing wealth.
Compound Interest is based on the premise that small, consistent, gains… continually added on top of each other, will result in exponential gains.
Mark Twain said famously: ““Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”
Given this powerful maxim, it’s surprising that more people aren’t seeing the correlation between finances and food.
Why Food?
Sinple… your body requires daily energy and fuel to function and thrive.
But there’s a big problem… our bodies are extremely adaptable and flexible… For Better or Worse!
What do I mean?
Your body will compound whatever you put into it.
If you decide to live off frozen pizza, UberEats and Twinkies, your body will slowly adapt to the influx of seed oils, stabilizers, HFCS and the host of other non-nutritious fillers that permeate these foods. Over time, there will be a slow erosion. First in energy… you become lethargic. Maybe you start to feel slight bloating but it’s no big deal, because it’s a slow steady build up that becomes “normal”… then maybe your insulin levels get out of whack, your blood pressure goes up, your resting HR elevates….
And the one thing no one talks about is that your palate becomes completely dulled to flavors.
This is all COMPOUND INTEREST at work in your body
The flip side?
You consume healthy fats, rich proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables bursting with vitamins, minerals, and healthy sugars. Your body will thank you with elevated energy levels, elimination of brain fog, decreased blood pressure and a trim feeling of not carrying bloat around…. This becomes the norm as your body is compounding for optimal health!
Take Control:
Do you want to climb a hill with a 100lb weight on your back?
Neither do I
Yet, I see many people hitting the gym like crazy with little-to-no regard to what they are feeding themselves.
This makes no sense..
If you’re going to put the effort into working out and put little-to-no effort into your eating, then you’re climbing that hill with a serious weight… totally unnecessary.
What’s Love Got to do with It?
The main objection I see is “I don’t like to cook”
Who cares?
Most people don’t enjoy working out, especially at the beginning of making a lifestyle change. Lame Excuse
The other objection “I’m not good at cooking”… that’s because you put in no reps…
Again, let’s compound…
Say you have ZERO cooking inclination: start with one meal per day… eg, eggs. Start with omelettes, scrambles or hashes… One day add arugula to an omelette; next day add kimchi to a hash, third day do a soft scramble over steamed rice with some soy sauce or fish sauce… Spend 30-45mins on Sunday planning meals for the week.
This is the beginning of compounding…
The final objection, “I don’t have time…” absolute bullish!t… 😂
If you spend 45-60 mins in a gym daily, you can carve out 30 mins a day to meal prep…. if you are efficient… hint: Octopod thrives at efficiency
Food As Fuel:
Must address this as there’s a large subset of people that fall off their pivot to healthier living when they go down the “food is fuel” maxi journey. This group preaches that “it doesn’t matter what food tastes like, so drink your raw eggs and chow down on that raw beef liver”… Sorry, ewww!
This may work for some hardcore fitness pros that are putting in surgical-precision levels to achieve a specific physique or weight, but for most of the population you should be able to enjoy your food! Why the eff do we have tastebuds in the first place? It’s for this reason you start seeing fitness gurus baking tortillas with toppings and calling them “pizzas”… sorry… no.
What if you could have a thriving workout routines and also look forward to your next meal(s)?
Hint: You Can
Putting it All Together
I have much more to say on this, but today we will stop here.
Why is Preparing Food so Important?
It’s near-impossible to eat out/order-in food that is not full of seed oils, high-sugars and preservatives.
You’re making life more difficult by not splitting focus on Fitness & Food. Keep your barbell balanced.
Your best life will be experienced at optimal health.
Mealtime should be enjoyable and, at best, a time for making memories with others.
Remember: “You can’t turn a ship on a dime, but you can start to get it back on course”
If you haven’t hit the Octopod Paid sub yet… sign up today and let Octopod help you enjoy your meals to the max while living your best life… detailed recipes, efficiency hacks, Q&A’s, and more.
Start your Food Compounding Journey today!
To your continued health and delicious meals ahead 🥂
"And the one thing no one talks about is that your palate becomes completely dulled to flavors."
If you can't taste the sweetness in brocolli you're doing it wrong.